The Phasmid Study Group MARCH 2005 NEWSLETTER No 101 ISSN 0268-3806 INDEX: Page Content 2 Diary Dates 3 Editorial 4 PSGAGM 6 Competition Results 8 The PSG Culture List 9 Name Changes, PSG 82 & 83. 9 Wexham Court School Models 10 Baculum ussuriana (now Ramulus ussurianus) 10 The PSG Committee 11 Blackberry Miscellany 16 Stick Talk 17 The PSG Species List 21 The Newark Show 22 18th Century Phasmid Plates by Seba 22 Jokes 23 PSG Merchandise 24 The Colour Page 25 Wants & Exchanges 26 Membership Application Form The RSG 25 years old. / Baculum ussuriana now Romulus ussurianus Creoxylus spinosus Oreophoetes peruana male March 2005 Newsletter 101.1 Website: www.stickinsect.org.uk Diary Dates Spring Entomological (formerly Kettering) Show 10.30 am, Sunday, 17 April 2005; Kettering Leisure Village, Kettering, Northants. (Contact Jack Harris, 01455 444792). Phasma Reunion 11 am, Sunday, 24th April 2005; The Planetarium, Botanic Gardens, De Ledeganckstraat, Gent. ELG Spring Fair 12.00noon-4pm, Sunday, 15th May 2005. Pattishall Village Hall, Pattishall, Near Towcester, Northants. (Contact: Paul Batty, 01909 565564). British Tarantula Society Exhibition 1 lam, Sunday,22nd May 2005. Woodgreen High School, Wednesbury, West Midlands. (2 mins from Junction 9 of the M6). (Contact: Ray Hale 01323 489047). [Thanks to PSG member Michael Summerfield for the information.] Newark Entomological Show Sunday, 12th June, 2005 (and again ? December, 2005), 12am-4pm, Grove Leisure Centre,, London Rd., Balderton, Newark (off the Al). (Contact for tables or information: Paul Holt, 01636 674723 or 07901 577251). Green Fair Saturday, ? July 2005, Somerset. ASSISTANCE, PLEASE. I try to be of help to our members by PSG 25th Anniversary Summer Meeting including in Diary Dates all the shows etc I am aware of. But I am very much Saturday, 9th July 2005 - 11.30 am, Palaeontology Demonstration Room, Natural History Museum, London. in need of members' assistance to give me details of the shows - dates, venues, Invertebrate Day at Colchester Zoo etc, please. Also, in many cases I give contact details, but I just do not have Sunday, TBA August 2005 - Colchester Zoo, Maldon Road, Stanway, Essex. 01206 331292. enough time to pursue them all for relevant particulars. If any member can Lincoln Exotics (formerly: Invert) Show assist by getting the missing details, and Sunday,? September 2005. Main Hall, North Kesteven Centre, Lincoln. (Just off the A1434, which is passing them to me, it would be much off the A46). (Contact Jim Tweadle, 01522 501241, e-mail: [email protected]). appreciated. Editor. Castle Drogo, AES Bugshow! Saturday ? October 2005,1 lam-4.30pm, at Castle Drogo, Devon. AES Exhibition Saturday, ? October, 2005, 1 lam. Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road, Kempton Park, Sunbury-on Thames, Middlesex. Contact: AES, PO Box 8774, London, SW7; E-mail: [email protected]. Newark Entomological Show Sunday, 12th June, 2005 (and again ? December, 2005), 12am-4pm, Grove Leisure Centre,, London Rd., Balderton, Newark (off the Al). (Contact for tables or information: Paul Holt, 01636 674723 or 07901 577251). Bugs & Beasties Show (date unknown) Selby, North Yorkshire (Contact Steve Dye, www.bugsnstuff.co.uk). West of England Creepy Crawly Show. (Details unknown) PSG AGM & Winter Meeting Saturday, ? January 2006 - 11.30 am, Palaeontology Demonstration Room, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London. Please check with the organisers that shows are still on, & at times shown, before setting out - the PSG cannot be responsible for a wasted journey. If you attend these or other shows, please send in a review for the Newsletter. If you are aware of any additional shows involving phasmids, or other insects, spiders, etc, however big or small the show, and wherever the show may be, please pass the details on to the editor. The Phasmid Study Group is invited to exhibit at many shows. If you would like to help run our stand, please contact the member named, or Paul Jennings, our Exhibitions and Meeting Officer 89 Brackensdale Avenue, Derby, DE22 4AF, Tel: 01332 343477. REQUEST FOR ARTICLES. ETC. FOR THE PSG NEWSLETTER Please send me your articles, reviews on shows and meetings, wants & exchanges, drawings, photos, phasmid problems, answers to problems, crosswords, quizzes, puzzles, web site details, ideas or comments on the Newsletters, etc, etc. My details are at the back of each Newsletter. Many thanks, Editor. March 2005 Newsletter 101.2 Website: www.stickinsect.org.uk Editorial Welcome to the March PSG Newsletter. And, if all goes according to plan, it should be accompanied by the latest PSG culture list, the latest membership list, and a Phasmid Studies] However, apologies if you receive this a bit late - we have had a few problems... AGM. From the information I've received, everyone that attended the PSG AGM and Winter Meeting in January enjoyed themselves. Sadly I was not there, but it seems it was quite an eventful meeting. There are reports and photos on it in this Newsletter. The biggest problem was that London trains stopped running properly; I'm not sure of the reason for this, but without trains it is very difficult and/or expensive to get around London. Hence many people arrived much later than they intended, and the agenda timetable went out of the window. Cameron has a report on the Competition in which he apologises that he was a bit flustered with the disruptions of the day, and that things did not all go according to his plans. However, I've heard from people that saw and/or took part in the competition, and they all thought it went fine. PSG CULTURE LIST. It is very good news that the PSG culture list has been updated and reissued. As I understand it, the subject was raised at the AGM, and a new system is in place to enable it to be updated and issued more easily. (More about that in this Newsletter). This "current" list is really an "interim" list, while further additions and changes are being fast-tracked, and hopefully by the end of the year there will be a really up to date list issued. Meanwhile, keep an eye on our PSG Website; I believe our webmaster Paul intends to keep the culture list on there and as up to date as possible. COLOUR IN PSG NEWSLETTERS - IMPORTANT. The subject of colour in Newsletters was raised by a committee member at the AGM, and radical (I think detrimental) changes were suggested almost before anyone realised what was happening. There was no prior warning that this hot potato would be raised (it should really have been an agenda item for the committee initially), so there was no time to formulate arguments for and against the idea. Basically, the standard Newsletter is normally issued in black and white, with one colour page ("The Colour Page"). And recently, as you should all be aware from mentions in previous Newsletters, a very small number of all-colour versions of the Newsletter were printed for PSG Committee members, and contributors to that Newsletter, when logistics allowed. (The membership subscription fee is currently insufficient for all members to have all-colour copies). This may seem unfair on the face of it, but ANY member could receive an all-colour copy either by being voted onto the committee, or by sending an article or other contribution to the Newsletter. When you consider the many hours and sterling efforts committee members and Newsletter contributors put into the PSG, free of charge in their own time, and how it benefits all members, this should be seen as a well-earned little thank you. In particular, this system has encouraged contributions to the Newsletter, an incentive that will be lost if we revert to all Newsletters being in black and white. Also, the way forward is for ALL Newsletters to be printed in full colour, and the printing of just a few all-colour versions is a stepping stone towards this ultimate goal. I therefore think it was a very short-sighted and backward step to consider reverting to all Newsletters being in black and white again Well, it was decided at the AGM that a coloured version of future Newsletters should be available on the PSG Website for one year. I can see the attraction of members having access to an all-colour version of the Newsletter on the website, and I try to make the Newsletter colourful - indeed nearly all the photos are in colour. (Also, Paul has sent me normal and all- colour versions of the Newsletter so I can compare them to make sure the coloured bits can be seen all right when printed in black and white). However, I foresee possible problems if Newsletters are copied off the Website and misused, and loss of revenue from the purchase of back numbers, so these are some points that should have been considered. Anyway, the trial will continue, and we can see how it goes before deciding if this idea really is a good thing. It was also suggested that by having only some all-colour versions we were contravening the rules for ISSN publications. This has now been looked into and found not to be the case. It was further suggested that some members, who are otherwise eligible for all-colour versions, would prefer all black and white versions. If this were the case, the person concerned can always advise Paul Brock that they, personally, want only black and white versions in the future. There is currently much concern expressed over the possible demise of the all-colour Newsletters. Also, some committee members have had much debate on whether the perceived agreement to revert to all black and white copies from now on was actually voted for at the AGM.